Early French Open Ruminations

[Carol]

It's so true what many people say, it's ridiculous what Roger is doing, he must to know how his back is, if he has spasms and pain he couldn't play at 5 sets and not even 3. He probably is going to wait until the last minute, you know, sponsors, publicity, etc etc etc :nono :roll eyes:

 

[GameSetAndMath]

1. If Federer withdraws before the draw is made (which is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Friday) , everybody below him will move up by one spot in the seedings (and thus Rafa would get #4 seed among other things).

2. Nadalites do not need to worry. Even if Roger withdraws after the draw, Rafa will get the #4 seed as long as the tournament rebalances the draw. In the event Fed withdraws after the draw is made but before the order of play for the opening day is released (which is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Saturday, remember that at RG the tourney starts on sunday as they play the 1st round spread over three days), the tournament organizers are required to rebalance the draw as per the following rule. Any vacancy created by the withdrawal of a seed prior to the release of the Order of Play for the first day of Main Draw shall be filled as follows: If the withdrawal is among seeds 1 to 4, the 5th seed is moved into then open position, the 5th position shall be filled by the 17th seed, and the 17th position shall be filled by the next highest ranked player eligible to be seeded. So, if that situation arises, Rafa will get #4 Seed, John Isner will get #5 Seed, Fog will get #17 seed and a lucky loser will take Fog's place.

3. If Fed withdraws after the OOP for opening day is released but before play commences on the opening day, it is upto the discretion of the tournament organizers whether they want to rebalance the draw or not. However, if they choose to rebalance the draw, they must follow the abovementioned procedure.

4. If they choose not to rebalance or if Fed withdraws after the first ball is struck, Fed's position will simply be given to a lucky loser.

p.s. Hopefully, Fed will not withdraw and we don't have to worry about all these rules.

 

[DarthFed]

^ What's ridiculous about him wanting to play if at all possible? I think if he is even remotely healthy enough to play he should because lack of match play is going to be an issue come grass season. Roger has played 5 matches since Australia. Regardless of whether Fed arrives at Wimbledon healthy as can be he would still be screwed by having practically no matches under his belt if he doesn't start getting a bunch. Even if Roger knows that realistically he will be ousted by the quarterfinals of the French those 3 or 4 matches are important.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

^ What's ridiculous about him wanting to play if at all possible? I think if he is even remotely healthy enough to play he should because lack of match play is going to be an issue come grass season. Roger has played 5 matches since Australia. Regardless of whether Fed arrives at Wimbledon healthy as can be he would still be screwed by having practically no matches under his belt if he doesn't start getting a bunch. Even if Roger knows that realistically he will be ousted by the quarterfinals of the French those 3 or 4 matches are important.

The only situation where he should not play is if playing will aggravate whatever is his problem.
Otherwise, he should play as match practice before grass season starts is important.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

I think people are being ridiculous about this. Shut the eff up already about it. Geez, going off the advice of some Nadal should have never returned after his injuries. Fed has to play himself into form if he wants to contend, and Roger is the only person who knows. If his withdrawal or lack of going far "ruins" RG in your eyes, then who gives a flying eff. I mean Roger has been a consummate professional pretty much all of his career. I think he should be granted some leniency. It isn't like he has been the epitome of an injured player his entire career, so he should be able to figure this out and do what he pleases without too much b**ching from the peanut gallery.

 

[the AntiPusher]

If Federer withdraws before the draw is made (which is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Friday) , everybody below him will move up by one spot in the seedings (and thus Rafa would get #4 seed among other things).


Nadalites do not need to worry. Even if Roger withdraws after the draw, Rafa will get the #4 seed as long as the tournament rebalances the draw. Here are the rules in the event Fed withdraws after the draw is made but before the order of play for the opening day is released (which is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Saturday, remember that at RG the tourney starts on sunday as they play the 1st round spread over three days).

If Fed withdraws after the OOP for opening day is released but before play commences on the opening day, it is upto the discretion of the tournament organizers whether they want to rebalance the draw or not. However, if they choose to rebalance the draw, they must follow the Any vacancy created by the withdrawal of a seed prior to the release of the Order of Play for the first day of Main Draw shall be filled as follows: If the withdrawal is among seeds 1 to 4, the 5th seed is moved into then open position, the 5th position shall be filled by the 17th seed, and the 17th position shall be filled by the next highest ranked player eligible to be seeded. So, if that situation arises, Rafa will get #4 Seed, John Isner will get #5 Seed, Fog will get #17 seed and a lucky loser will take Fog's place.abovementioned procedure.

If the choose not to rebalance or if Fed withdraws after the first ball is struck, Fed's position will simply be given to a lucky loser.

p.s. Hopefully, Fed will not withdraw and we don't have to worry about all these rules.

Any vacancy created by the withdrawal of a seed prior to the release of the Order of Play for the first day of Main Draw shall be filled as follows: If the withdrawal is among seeds 1 to 4, the 5th seed is moved into then open position, the 5th position shall be filled by the 17th seed, and the 17th position shall be filled by the next highest ranked player eligible to be seeded. So, if that situation arises, Rafa will get #4 Seed, John Isner will get #5 Seed, Fog will get #17 seed and a lucky loser will take Fog's place.

Good Grief. Man.. it can get complicated .. Thanks GSM..

I see the Bitter Bettys Fed fans have an issue with what is perceived by the other fans to have Roger wtihdraw.

 

[the AntiPusher]

I think people are being ridiculous about this. Shut the eff up already about it. Geez, going off the advice of some Nadal should have never returned after his injuries. Fed has to play himself into form if he wants to contend, and Roger is the only person who knows. If his withdrawal or lack of going far "ruins" RG in your eyes, then who gives a flying eff. I mean Roger has been a consummate professional pretty much all of his career. I think he should be granted some leniency. It isn't like he has been the epitome of an injured player his entire career, so he should be able to figure this out and do what he pleases without too much b**ching from the peanut gallery.

dude is all this NOISE you are spuring .. Is it worth all of that.. Send your pleads to the media who are advising Roger to pull out if he isnt fit.

 

[Carol]

I think people are being ridiculous about this. Shut the eff up already about it. Geez, going off the advice of some Nadal should have never returned after his injuries. Fed has to play himself into form if he wants to contend, and Roger is the only person who knows. If his withdrawal or lack of going far "ruins" RG in your eyes, then who gives a flying eff. I mean Roger has been a consummate professional pretty much all of his career. I think he should be granted some leniency. It isn't like he has been the epitome of an injured player his entire career, so he should be able to figure this out and do what he pleases without too much b**ching from the peanut gallery.

dude is all this NOISE you are spuring .. Is it worth all of that.. Send your pleads to the media who are advising Roger to pull out if he isnt fit.

And the NOISE that Roger is doing, now yes now not, to play or not to play. He says that still has back spasms and pain but his goal is to do well in Wimbledon and Olympics. Then he should to be more focus training on grass, playing the tournament on grass before Wimbledon instead to play this clay GS playing one or two matches and doing worse the problem. BUT if he feels really well, OK, sir Roger, go ahead without any excuse :cover

 

[GameSetAndMath]

All Nadalites giving profound advice to Roger, of course without any vested interests

Even though his aim may be to win Wimbledon and/or Olympics, a foundation for it would be to get some match practice at RG. He should play at RG, even if he is less than 100% as long as it is unlikely to aggravate the situation by playing in it. He is very shrewd in scheduling. I have full confidence that he will not play RG if that were the case.

Now, shall we lease: give the man some time and space to evaluate the situation and make his decision?

 

[GameSetAndMath]

ESPN (in USA) has dropped the ball on French Open. They just will not carry it. All the early rounds will be in Tennis Channel and NBC Sports Channel (both paid channels) and the finals will be on NBC. This is really ridiculous. They use to advertise themselves as the Grand Slam Channel and now they are backing away. :cry

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Class act by NBC :snicker

NBC will show the Men's semifinal with tape delay. However, since they have purchased the rights, they will not let any other channel show it live in USA.

 

[Obsi]

If you say so. Most though would say his level has dropped noticeably since the Doha final which was probably the best match he ever played. Since then he hasn't been beating opponents anywhere near as comfortably, with opponents squandering many break points and him scraping through to win.

If Djokovic's level has dropped noticeably since Doha, it does not mean my proposition is incorrect. The word overall means "in general". Since Doha 4 months have passed. 19 - 4 = 15. 15 is 79% of 19. So, overall (79%) Djokovic was brilliant the past 19 months.

Won a lot does not necessarily mean brilliant. Barely winning is still a win but your definition of brilliant is a bit out there. Most would say he has not been brilliant since the Doha final by any means. He was often there for the taking but his opponents were poor with break points. If you're there for the taking but eek out a win, being labelled brilliant is pushing it. He was nowhere near brilliant in Rome.

Do you read my posts? We're talking about the last 19 months. In other words, the discussion is about Djokovic's level from Paris Masters in 2014. If Novak was not brilliant from Paris in 2014 to Doha in 2016 neither was Federer in 2006.

 

[DarthFed]

If Federer withdraws before the draw is made (which is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Friday) , everybody below him will move up by one spot in the seedings (and thus Rafa would get #4 seed among other things).


Nadalites do not need to worry. Even if Roger withdraws after the draw, Rafa will get the #4 seed as long as the tournament rebalances the draw. Here are the rules in the event Fed withdraws after the draw is made but before the order of play for the opening day is released (which is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Saturday, remember that at RG the tourney starts on sunday as they play the 1st round spread over three days).

If Fed withdraws after the OOP for opening day is released but before play commences on the opening day, it is upto the discretion of the tournament organizers whether they want to rebalance the draw or not. However, if they choose to rebalance the draw, they must follow the Any vacancy created by the withdrawal of a seed prior to the release of the Order of Play for the first day of Main Draw shall be filled as follows: If the withdrawal is among seeds 1 to 4, the 5th seed is moved into then open position, the 5th position shall be filled by the 17th seed, and the 17th position shall be filled by the next highest ranked player eligible to be seeded. So, if that situation arises, Rafa will get #4 Seed, John Isner will get #5 Seed, Fog will get #17 seed and a lucky loser will take Fog's place.abovementioned procedure.

If the choose not to rebalance or if Fed withdraws after the first ball is struck, Fed's position will simply be given to a lucky loser.

p.s. Hopefully, Fed will not withdraw and we don't have to worry about all these rules.

Any vacancy created by the withdrawal of a seed prior to the release of the Order of Play for the first day of Main Draw shall be filled as follows: If the withdrawal is among seeds 1 to 4, the 5th seed is moved into then open position, the 5th position shall be filled by the 17th seed, and the 17th position shall be filled by the next highest ranked player eligible to be seeded. So, if that situation arises, Rafa will get #4 Seed, John Isner will get #5 Seed, Fog will get #17 seed and a lucky loser will take Fog's place.

Good Grief. Man.. it can get complicated .. Thanks GSM..

I see the Bitter Bettys Fed fans have an issue with what is perceived by the other fans to have Roger wtihdraw.

Yes I do have an issue with some of the classless Rafa fans just praying Fed pulls out regardless of whether or not he can play and then acting as though they know how he is feeling and are concerned for his health when we know damn well the only thing they care about is their precious getting the #4 seed. As long as going out there doesn't make the problem a lot worse Roger should play, he needs all the match practice he can get.

 

[DarthFed]

All Nadalites giving profound advice to Roger, of course without any vested interests

Even though his aim may be to win Wimbledon and/or Olympics, a foundation for it would be to get some match practice at RG. He should play at RG, even if he is less than 100% as long as it is unlikely to aggravate the situation by playing in it. He is very shrewd in scheduling. I have full confidence that he will not play RG if that were the case.

Now, shall we lease: give the man some time and space to evaluate the situation and make his decision?

Exactly the point I've been trying to get across. This may come as a shock to some Wafa fans hoping he gets the #4 seed at all costs but sitting on your ass and only playing 5 matches in the 6 months before Wimbledon is not ideal preparation. If he is healthy at Wimbledon but doesn't play any more matches beforehand he will not do well there, end of discussion.

 

[Front242]

If Djokovic's level has dropped noticeably since Doha, it does not mean my proposition is incorrect. The word overall means "in general". Since Doha 4 months have passed. 19 - 4 = 15. 15 is 79% of 19. So, overall (79%) Djokovic was brilliant the past 19 months.

Won a lot does not necessarily mean brilliant. Barely winning is still a win but your definition of brilliant is a bit out there. Most would say he has not been brilliant since the Doha final by any means. He was often there for the taking but his opponents were poor with break points. If you're there for the taking but eek out a win, being labelled brilliant is pushing it. He was nowhere near brilliant in Rome.

Do you read my posts? We're talking about the last 19 months. In other words, the discussion is about Djokovic's level from Paris Masters in 2014. If Novak was not brilliant from Paris in 2014 to Doha in 2016 neither was Federer in 2006.

Sorry to disappoint but Federer's level was higher in 2006 and 2014-2016 is one of the weakest eras in tennis history. Edited to add that, while the competition was clearly weak, he did of course also play very well. Brilliant is pushing it though and given the weak competition he rarely needed to be brilliant. The shot making skills and all out aggressive wins by Federer in 2006 was higher level tennis.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

If you are a top 5 player seeding shouldn't matter anyway because you have to play each other for the titles anyway. The way to RG is through Novak, Rafa and Murray anyway they can't avoid each other, and you get the seeding you deserve. Regardless of whether Fed plays well or not had Rafa done better at some of the other tournaments this year he could have been #4 without this worry of running into Novak or Murray early. If Nadal had done better in Australia and in Miami, this would be moot rather than harbor this resentment toward Federer for coming back from injury and trying to figure it all out by gasp playing tournaments.

 

[Carol]

It seems that certain Woger fans don't like to see more ahead of their nose. Who cares if Rafa plays as #5 or #4 though this last seed would be better for him but what we are seeing very odd it's the way that Woger is acting after his surgery and since IW "now yes, now not, I play I don't play, to be or not to be". I've never seen a player with so many doubts, pick up your mind sir Woger! puzzled

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

I am not even a Federer fan, but he knows better than we do what is going on, but it doesn't do him any good to pull out of tournaments he is scheduled to play if he can play. Of course he is going to have doubts, like any player coming back from injury. Like I said before, Roger has rarely had to contend with injuries, so I am sure this is just as new to him as the concept of him being injured and returning to play is to some of you.

 

[Obsi]

Won a lot does not necessarily mean brilliant. Barely winning is still a win but your definition of brilliant is a bit out there. Most would say he has not been brilliant since the Doha final by any means. He was often there for the taking but his opponents were poor with break points. If you're there for the taking but eek out a win, being labelled brilliant is pushing it. He was nowhere near brilliant in Rome.

Do you read my posts? We're talking about the last 19 months. In other words, the discussion is about Djokovic's level from Paris Masters in 2014. If Novak was not brilliant from Paris in 2014 to Doha in 2016 neither was Federer in 2006.

Sorry to disappoint but Federer's level was higher in 2006 and 2014-2016 is one of the weakest eras in tennis history. Edited to add that, while the competition was clearly weak, he did of course also play very well. Brilliant is pushing it though and given the weak competition he rarely needed to be brilliant. The shot making skills and all out aggressive wins by Federer in 2006 was higher level tennis.

Rod Laver disagrees with you and he is a greater tennis expert than anyone here.

 

[Carol]

Rod Laver never played to Federer, Nadal and Novak so I think the best experts are the players playing each other, their opinion have more value than anyone else